Characters


Macbeth


doubts and instead chides him for appearing sorrowful. LadyMacbeth’s guilt reaches its fullest expression in the sleepwalking scene (Act 5, Sc 1).As


she is a very guarded character it seems appropriate for Shakespeare to expose her most personal fears through the device of sleepwalking. It gives the audience an uncensored look at her subconscious. The arresting vision of Lady Macbeth attempting to wash her hands of blood dramatically conveys the depth of her guilt. She is unable to rid herself of the memory of her crimes: ‘Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the / perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little / hand.’She alsomakes reference to themurders of Banquo andMacduff’s family; evidently she feels responsible for helping to unleash the evil in Macbeth. The sleepwalking scene reveals Lady Macbeth’s unhappiness and fraying mental state. Ominously the doctor tells the gentlewoman to ‘Remove from her the means of all annoyance, / And still keep eyes upon her’, thus foreshadowing her eventual suicide. Her suicide happens offstage, indicating how marginalised she has become as a character. The


means of her death compounds the idea of her as a woman overwhelmingly burdened by guilt. Lady Macbeth:


 Ambitious


 Manipulative  Calculating  Composed





Ultimately burdened by guilt Banquo


Banquo is an important figure within Macbeth. He functions as a foil (contrast) to Macbeth. His distrust of thewitches, his innate goodness and the fact that he commits no evil deeds set himapart from Macbeth. Banquo is also ambitious: he harbours private ambitions for his children’s succession to the crown.However, unlikeMacbeth, he is unwilling to compromise hismorality to pursue these ambitions.


AFoil (Contrast) to Macbeth One of themain functions of Banquo within the play is to highlightMacbeth’s shortcomings. This is done by contrasting howMacbeth and Banquo deal with temptation. This ismost evident when both characters meet the witches.Macbeth appears desperate to hear the witches’ prophecies: ‘Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more’whereas Banquo boldly shows a refusal to fear or beg the weird sisters: ‘Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear /Your favours nor your hate’ (Act 1, Sc 3). While Macbeth is ‘rapt withal’ by the witches’ prophecies, Banquo’s instinct is to question their motives:


‘...to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence’ (Act 1, Sc 3)


Banquo’s innate goodness causes him to interrogate evil. Unlike Macbeth, he does not try to actively bring about the witches’ equivocal promises. Although Banquo is affected by dark thoughts he is portrayed as resistant to the lure of evil. Shortly before Duncan is murdered, Banquo is unable to sleep as he is troubled by thoughts of the witches. He appeals to heaven to help resist the temptations prompted by the evil witches’ prophecies:


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